How to get Started in Recovery
There is a way of recovery that works and we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Many of us believe that a Christ-centered approach to recovery is the purest form and is what worked best in the beginning. However, this not the starting point for some people. God will meet us right where we are. We will make progress in recovery if we have come to the point where we are honest, open minded and willing. God can and does work in all recovery settings if we are open to change and His solution to our problems.
God will reveal Himself to us if we are open to having a personal relationship with Him. Recovery is having a personal relationship with the Lord. Growing in recovery is getting closer and more intimate with Him. Recovery doesn’t take a lot of work, time or intellect. Sometimes our best thinking will get us into trouble. Mostly, recovery requires willingness – a willingness to approach life a different way – God’s way.
One of the first things we want to do to help our recovery is to go to meetings. Very simply the reason we go to meetings is to hear how the people did it that have been successful in gaining victory over their life-controlling problems. If we want what they have we can do what they did to get it. Meetings are the main forum for carrying the message of hope and recovery for those who are still suffering. We don’t have to do this alone.
It is important to go to meetings with the right attitude. Attend with the expectancy to hear something that we can identify with that will help. If we attend with an open mind that God might speak to us through someone at the meeting, He probably will impress something upon our heart (even through the least likely person) if we are humble and willing. Most recovery fellowships recommend going to 90 meetings in 90 days to help refocus and get grounded in recovery.
Reading recovery materials will go a long way in aiding our recovery. There is an abundance of recovery materials available today covering most any addiction. Pray that the Lord will lead us to the materials that will communicate best to our circumstances and help us the most.
Recovery is more than sitting around and talking about our problems – it doing something about them. Recovery is about change and we experience improvement by working the steps (applying Biblical principles to our lives). A sponsor is helpful in working the steps.
A sponsor is someone who has worked the steps and has a successful program of recovery and is willing to help others in need. A sponsor originally got help from somebody else. We learn in recovery that we can only keep what we have by giving it away. There are good pamphlets about sponsorship around recovery that can answer our questions about finding a sponsor.
Remember to pray. Ask for God’s help in the morning and thank Him at night. You are not without help. (Phil 4:19 NIV) “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”